Will Matt den Dekker Just HIT ALREADY?!

Home » Mets Minor Leagues » Will Matt den Dekker Just HIT ALREADY?!

By now I’m sure many of you heard of or have seen the catch Matt den Dekker made last night, robbing the Nationals’ Anthony Rendon of a Spring Home Run. We ebedded it in the Game Recap, but it’s so good that it is only justifiable to embed it once more, for those that have not seen it or clearly want to watch it again.

We have known for a while now that Matt den Dekker can seriously bring it in center field. As you can see by the jump and read he gets on the ball, the young man has Major League instincts out there. His offense, however, has been a step behind.

Year	Age	Tm	Lev	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB
2010	22	Mets	Rk	5	21	18	2	5	2	0	0	5	0	0	2	5	.278	.350	.389	.739	7
2010	22	Savannah	A	27	114	104	21	36	13	0	0	15	3	0	9	28	.346	.404	.471	.875	49
2011	23	St. Lucie	A+	67	302	267	54	79	19	8	6	36	12	5	24	65	.296	.362	.494	.857	132
2011	23	Binghamton	AA	72	314	272	49	64	13	3	11	32	12	5	27	91	.235	.312	.426	.738	116
2012	24	Binghamton	AA	58	268	238	47	81	21	4	8	29	10	7	20	64	.340	.397	.563	.960	134
2012	24	Buffalo	AAA	77	317	295	37	65	10	4	9	47	11	2	14	90	.220	.256	.373	.629	110
3 Seasons				306	1336	1194	210	330	78	19	34	164	48	19	96	343	.276	.336	.459	.795	548

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/26/2013.

The one time he has had a bump-up in production after being promoted mid-year was when he joined Savannah from the Rookie League on the Gulf Coast in 2010. All other times, he takes a 2nd half and an offseason to adjust. If this pattern continues (which it should adding the Las Vegas factor to the mix), den Dekker should begin to figure it out a little more at age 25 and finally make the jump to the Majors at some point this year.

Kirk Nieuwenhuis‘s defense is very much above average but den Dekker is on another level. Though the pattern continuing would mean he would struggle at the Major League level, it’s safe to say that if den Dekker figures out how to hit Major League pitching, he immediately climbs to the top of the Center Field depth chart, considering how his defensive prowess gets better and better the more it is on display.

He added a single to his game last night, starting a 1-out rally that brought the Mets within a run in the Classic of a Spring Loss. With the way he struggled after his promotion to Buffalo, they will most likely send him out to Vegas no matter how out of his mind he might play this Spring. With it being the hitter’s paradise everyone says it is, it will be good for his confidence and his overall progression.

Plus, he can bring back a bunch of home runs for the pitchers we want to progress as well.

If den Dekker gets it together at the plate, thank God we didn’t sign Michael freakin’ Bourn.

Thanks for reading! You can visit Sam Maxwell’s personal Mets Blog here. And be sure to Like Rising Apple’s Facebook page and follow @RisingAppleBlog on Twitter to keep up with the latest news, rumors, and opinion.